Helpful Location Tracker app.

Susanne - posted on 04/15/2015
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I am posting purely to educate those who have issues knowing where their children are at any time. The best way to stay safe is having the convenience of knowing where your child is if they ever need your help. My daughter downloaded this app the other day that sends me her exact location when she presses a button on her iphone. It helps me always know where she is in case there is some sort of emergency and she needs my help. You can type in "Current location tracker" on the app store and find it.

"I'll tell my kid NO when I feel it need be and I will say NO when they ask me if I trust them."

LOL,I tell my kids no when I feel I need to as well. But distrusting a 17 year old will get you nowhere. You need to start toward developing an adult relationship with them and learning to trust that you have raised them appropriately. It isn't just about trusting them, but also trusting you have done your job as a parent. Children deserve some level of trust if they have earned it, until such time as they break it.

The funny thing is, you don't know where your child is at all times with this app. Only when the child WANTS you to know. So really, you still have to trust them to use it, right? So really, by your standards, you would still have to keep your 17 year old on a leash to know exactly where they were at all times. Sorry, but I don't plan on babying my children forever, I plan on allowing them to grow up and learn to make good choices on their own (and learn to make mistakes too, because that is how children learn).

"trusting your kids too much like this is why children in American are so bad and talk back to their parents and run their parents' lives and learn zero respect."

LOL, I am not American, my children aren't bad, my children don't talk back, my children don't run my life and my children have respect. So many inaccuracies in this statement.......

"A mother that doesn't know where her children are at all times is something of concern to me but to each their own."

I don't plan on following my children around everywhere when they are older teens, for goodness sake. My 10 year old, of course I know where she is at all times, because I still pick her up and drop her off everywhere, I still take her to the shops if she needs to go, I still supervise going to the park, and so on. She doesn't have a phone BECAUSE I know where she is, and she is always supervised by an adult, so she doesn't need one.

Knowing approximately where older teens are hanging out and what they are up to is enough. If my son says he's going to his girlfriend's house, I know where he is. I TRUST that he isn't lying to me about going to her house (because he knows the consequences if he did). I also know what time he will be home because we negotiate that. If they decide to walk to the shops together, so what if I don't know about that? They are 17 and 18, more than old enough to take care of themselves. I know he is with her, so that's really all I need to know. If that concerns you, that a child who will be 18 in 5 months doesn't let me know every single time he moves a hair, then you are seriously over-parenting your children.

As Sarah has said, freedom and trust should be earned by our children. Automatically assuming they shouldn't be trusted is really unfair on them.

Lol... My teenager can be kinda stupid. He is likely to accidentally give me the wrong address. He also works with his friend and his dad often, and they do renovations on different properties on a regular basis. An app like this would be great as he may not know the address of the house he will be working at during that day. I think this is a great idea. :)

Well i'm sure other parents teenagers do. It's normal for a teenager to go places without sending you the exact location, but if they have the app and you ask where they are they can send it to you. Convenience.

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â« Shawnn âªâ«â« - posted on 04/20/2015

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@ LolaF: ARE YOU AMERICAN? If not, then kindly hold your INCORRECT ASSUMPTIONS of how american teens are raised to yourself. Unless you LIVE HERE, and are a PARENT HERE, and interact with american teens, you have no clue about them.I, for one, as a responsible AMERICAN parent, am extremely offended and upset by your ASSumption. My children are incredibly well raised, as ANY ONE WHO INTERACTS WITH THEM will be happy to share. If you'd care to have your ASSumptions rectified, feel free to hop a jet to the US.

That being said, those who choose to parent by app are, IMHO, the ones who aren't parenting fully, and who can most likely be expected to have problems with their kids. PERSONAL interaction. That's my method of parenting, and so far, its extremely successful.

Good information. Thanks for sharing Susanne. Do not waste time on trying to justify the way you choose to parent. Continue to share information you believe in and do not let anyone "debate" when you are merely trying to give information some may enjoy having.Those that appreciate it will be kind & say thanks. Those that do not.... Well ... Let's just say I guess you learned COM is not always a "warm/friendly" place to be. Haha!! :)Take care,Sandra

@Lola while you advocate not name calling or judging, that is precisely what you do in your posts. To make such a sweeping generalization about "children in America" is cruel and untrue. There are disobedient and disrespectful children in every culture. The initial post was touted as a way to track you child at all times, and has been edited since. To say that allowing an 18 yo son his freedom is irresponsible is unfair. My son has earned my trust through years and years of consistent parenting on my part and consistent obedience on his part. Do I allow my ten year old the same freedom, of course not. I always know where she is, and I don't need a phone tracking app to tell me so. She doesn't even own a phone! I trust my children, all four of them, because they have not given me reason not too. They go where they say they are going, and with whom. No one called anyone a name. I think someone felt this type of parenting was "helicopter" parenting; but that was in response to the original post of "know where your kids are all the time" As if the child was wearing an ankle bracelet! In fact it was the OP who said that mother's who don't monitor every breath their kids take are uncaring. I have yet to meet a mother on this site who advises allowing your child to roam free and to let them do whatever they want whenever they desire. Rather, teaching respect and obedience and earning trust over time, what's so wrong with that?

The app would be better than nothing, if the kid chooses to use it. But actually being more involved with your kids, discussing where they will be and with whom, and trusting them to follow through is still preferable to me. Your kid could still wander all over creation, and only press the button after they finally reached the place that would be agreeable to you. It seems a psychological security blanket, to say the least, and still requires you to trust your child to have been all along where they are when they press the button. If the kid has a basic (dumb) phone, they can call or text and say "it's time to pick me up". Kids don't need smart phones.

This is YOUR way of parenting. No one asked for your opinion. Sorry, but trusting your kids too much like this is why children in American are so bad and talk back to their parents and run their parents' lives and learn zero respect. Everyone does it differently. Keep your opinions to yourself unless someone asks. Goodluck with NOT hovering over your children. A mother that doesn't know where her children are at all times is something of concern to me but to each their own. I couldn't imagine! Ugh, so sad. Be a dear and let people be who they want to be. Don't be those miserable mothers talking down on everyone all the time. Enjoy your day.

Susanne, don't listen to anyone out there when it comes to how you want to parent. People are too easy going now a days and trust their children way too quickly and call you all sorts of names if you aren't the same parent as they are. Sorry, but I will hover and not trust my children because they are CHILDREN. I'll tell my kid NO when I feel it need be and I will say NO when they ask me if I trust them. American culture is too afraid of their own kids. Too may crazy people out there for parents to be so open and easy going. I will definitely look into this app and not let anyone's insecurities and negative opinions get in my way of being the mother I want to be. Because we sure as heck cant tell them how to parent, right? ;) lol. Plus, in my culture, the parents aren't as open as others and it works. Do what you need to feel comfortable. Enjoy your day.

I don't have invested time in this, i am trying to make you understand that this is a convenient app and educate some other mothers out there on it. Every parent with a teenager knows their child goes places that are unexpected sometimes and it doesn't hurt having them send you the location.

Uh, no, they just have to ask their friend for the address then text it to you. It's not rocket science.

Do you have some sort of invested interest in this app or something? It just sounds like you are trying to sell this app (and if I look at your profile, you seem like you are trying to push this app) when in fact, conventional methods are perfectly suitable for the average person.

If your daughter doesn't know how to determine where she is going before she goes there so she can let you know where she is, education is key.

Once again it is for convenience and emergency in case your child needs you or if they just send you the location so you get a good view of where thy are. As i'm sure you know teens constantly change location, especially on weekends. My view is that its easier for her to click a button, then to travel to every place she goes to figure out her location.

My iPhone has a "share your location" option, I can let someone know where I am anytime...I have never used it. The only time I tracked one of my kids phones is when it was lost. I see the convenience of being able to get accurate directions, but beyond that, what's the point. My kids tell me where they go and who they are with and I have never doubted them or had a reason to doubt. The may not share their exact coordinates but I know where they are and where they plan on going. The exception is my 18yo, over the school year, he has had the freedom to go where he pleases. He still telly me but I don't track him down.

Yes, the cell phone is a great invention and your daughter can call you if she needs to if she is in trouble, but the app sends a pinpoint location of exactly where she is, should you need to pick her up and she can't tell you exactly where she is. It is convenience for you and for your child. I think the app is great. Just last week my daughter said she made a new friend and that she was going to her house after school. My daughter said to pick her up around 9 and sent me her friends address.

It's not normal for teenagers to go place without notifying you if that is part of your household rules and your trust relationship. It's only normal if you make it normal for them. We should be encouraging our teens to be honest with us about where they are. After all, an app like this is not going to be honest with us.....until they want it to be.

Um... if it doesn't work w/out her activating it.. how the hell is it going to help you find her in a ditch somewhere? if she were conscious (which you would have to be to activate it) couldn't she just CALL you.

She's 17... shouldn't you just trust her to tell the truth and to know to call if/when she needs help? Sheesh... I don't even keep as close of tabs on my 13 year old. lol

By the way... I'm sure there is a way around this app to have it send a false location to the parent's of a deceptive teen... so I'm really seeing zero benefits of this... even by your own reasonings mentioned.

I think you are misunderstanding the APP. This APP gives them the ability to tell me where they are. It is helpful when I am picking them up from a friends house or if they were to ever need it for an emergency. This is not a monitoring APP like a GPS. It simply allows them to tell me their exact location. If my daughter goes to a party I have her text me the location so I know where she is.

Well going on your last post, everyone should have the app. Just say it's your husband or another loved one.I agree with the other ladies, my oldest son has a phone but I don't need to know where he is all the time. I trust him when he says where he is so I don't need an app to tell me. I feel it's a bit overboard.

So you are also suggesting you have this app on your adult child's phone....yes, that is helicopter parenting. Sorry, I know you don't agree, but sometimes I wonder how we survived in the 70s and 80s. Oh, that's right, we did!!! Let your kids have some level of freedom that we had. It is actually extremely important to their development.

If you are going to do this, you may as well microchip your children at birth.....

I hardly think your suggestion that parents who think this is unnecessary don't care about their children is really going to help your argument, either, just giving you a tip there.

That doesn't really help any as my kids don't have a device w/ enough technology to do that. I wouldn't use it anyway. I have raised my kids to be responsible and honest and I trust them when they tell me where they will be. I'm completely against helicopter parenting... when a child is old enough to not be under constant adult supervision... they should be mature enough to be somewhat trustworthy and have been given coping skills to handle themselves away from a parent for a time being.

Are you seriously suggesting that because a mother doesn't need to know where her children are at all times that she doesn't care about them? I was suggesting that children need to learn some level of independence and parents need to learn to let go, not that parents shouldn't care. Stop being a helicopter to your children, you are not doing them any favours. I don't helicopter BECAUSE I care.